Nadal, who had beaten fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1 6-4 to reach the semi-finals, took the first set in little more than half an hour against Chardy, moving his opponent wide with a deep ball to the corner then blasting an overhead winner into the open court.

He broke to love in the third game of the second set, then saved three break points in the sixth game on the one occasion he was put under pressure.

"I played well today, better than the days before, which is important," Nadal said. "I won't compare myself to seven months ago - it's just the first week of competition. It's a great feeling to be in a final match after so much time without playing.

"Tomorrow, it will be a tough match against Horacio, who is playing great tennis. I hope to keep enjoying myself like I've been doing during this tournament and that my physical condition remains good."

Zeballos has beaten three seeded opponents en route to his second ATP final, having previously finished runner-up in St Petersburg in 2009.

Nadal and Zeballos have met once, Nadal winning in straight sets at Roland Garros in 2010, one of the seven French Open titles among his 11 Grand Slam triumphs.

Nadal is playing in his first tournament since a shock second-round exit at Wimbledon to Czech journeyman Lukas Rosol in June.

A torn tendon and inflammation in his left knee kept him out of the London Olympics and the 2012 US Open, while a virus delayed his intended return at the Australian Open last month.

The Spaniard plans to compete on clay in Brazil and Mexico before playing ATP Masters hard-court events at Indian Wells and Miami and then heading to Europe for clay events in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome culminating in the defence of his French Open title.

I watched the match last night to get a feeling about Nadal. It was not a pretty match. Chardy never once believed he could outrally Nadal so he went for his shots instead and for the most part, he came up really short. I thought he'd be a bit more patient in the 2nd set and had 3 break point chances in a row as well, but again made the same mistake at 15-40. Could have had the break back right there but ended up hitting a very wild forehand giving the point away to Nadal. Anyway, I don't think this would have made any differences to the overall outcome anyway. Nadal wasn't serving well neither was he returning well, and yet all throughout the match, he was in firm control. And that's mainly because of Chardy's abysmal performance who had no belief going into the match.

Anyway, it wasn't a very good match to judge Nadal's return by any means but it's a very good start for him nonetheless. I don't think he needs to do a whole lot here given the size of the tournament and the weak field.

Anyway, it wasn't a very good match to judge Nadal's return by any means but it's a very good start for him nonetheless. I don't think he needs to do a whole lot here given the size of the tournament and the weak field.

Nadal's going to have tougher opposition in Brazil, which starts tomorrow, so we should get a better idea of where he is. This has been an easy practice tournament so far, although I would have expected more from Chardy. Hopefully Zeballos will provide it, even although I expect a Nadal win.